


Nightmares

by enbyred



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress, my kids deserve a break, no, will i give it to them?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-17 16:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18102410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyred/pseuds/enbyred
Summary: Adora and Glimmer talk through new anxieties brought on during their time held in the Fright Zone.





	Nightmares

_ “You will have no memory of She-Ra or the time you spent with the rebellion. Everything will be as it once was.” _

_ Adora screamed. She struggled against the restraints, but they only got tighter, tighter, tighter until the only things she could focus on were the pain and her fear. Glimmer’s screams mixed with her own, and she didn’t know who was louder, or whether either had quieted or not. She could only hear screams, be it her own or her friend’s. A third voice joined, repeating “I just need a little more time!” over and over and over and over... _

_ Shadow Weaver laid her fingers on Adora’s temples, and the contact felt like it set her on fire. She let out another shriek, burning tears streaming down her face as she tried to pull away. _

_ Adora tried to cry out for Glimmer, but no sound escaped her lips. Her screams had given way to complete silence, no matter how hard she tried, no matter her struggle. There was only the echo of Entrapta’s words. All Adora felt besides the burning, searing pain was the sensation of the world around her falling apart, being torn from her very heart, feeling Glimmer get farther and farther away, and pure nothingness closing in, leaving only the image of a terrified Entrapta - _

“GLIMMER!”

She bolted upright in bed, screaming her friend’s name, and falling to the cold, hard floor. The pain dissipated, the burning soothed by consciousness and the feeling of the marble below her. Adora pressed her face into the floor, letting a choked sob escape her. 

Bright Moon. She was in Bright Moon. She wasn’t in the Fright Zone, Shadow Weaver was far away. She remembered Glimmer, she remembered She-Ra, she remembered too much, but the important thing was that she remembered everything. Even if she wished she didn’t.

She was only vaguely aware that her door creaked open. Her focus was trained on the cold sensation from the floor.

“Adora?”

Glimmer. That was Glimmer’s voice, clear and steady. It made Adora’s whole body relax in relief - it was so good to hear Glimmer’s voice without hearing her scream.

She peeled her face off the floor and propped herself to sit up at least partially straight. Glimmer had rushed to her side and was kneeling down next to her, a gentle hand on Adora’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly. “I heard you call my name.”

This was real. She was okay, Glimmer was okay, and this was real, and it was all okay. Glimmer had heard her scream, and she was able to come into her room and be with her, she wasn’t bound by the Black Garnet, she wasn’t bound by Shadow Weaver, neither of them were, and it was all okay.

Glimmer suppressed a groan as she squeezed her eyes shut and the now-familiar red static coursed through her.

Maybe it wasn’t okay. Maybe Glimmer wouldn’t be okay, and she would be glitching and powerless forever. Maybe Shadow Weaver had really destroyed the only power Glimmer had, and now they wouldn’t stand a chance against anyone, because She-Ra was useless without training, and Glimmer was their best line of defense with her teleportation, and if she couldn’t use it, then -

“Adora.”

She looked up into Glimmer’s earnest eyes. The glitching episode had subsided, and she had already bounced back. She took a gentle hold on Adora’s arms and helped her off the floor to sit on her bed, where she wrapped an arm around her.

“What happened?” Glimmer whispered.

It took Adora a few moments to find her voice. When she did, it was quiet and raspy, raw as though she had actually been screaming. Maybe she had. “It was just a nightmare. We were back in the Fright Zone, and Shadow Weaver…. She had us both, and you couldn’t escape in time, and you were screaming, and I hate that we were too late to save Entrapta, and it just…” Adora covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly, trying to banish the sound of her friend’s screams bouncing around in her mind.

“Hey.” Glimmer pulled Adora closer into a hug and stroked her back soothingly. “We escaped. Shadow Weaver can’t do anything to you here, and she didn’t succeed then. You’re here, you’re ours, and you’re She-Ra. As for Entrapta…” She sighed and her tone turned somber. “We were too late. We  _ couldn’t  _ save Entrapta. I wish we could turn back time and save her, but there’s nothing we can do. You and I weren’t even there when it happened, it’s not our fault - it’s not  _ anyone’s _ fault. You can’t blame yourself for it.”

“But it  _ is _ my fault,” Adora insisted. “Catra tricked me at prom and took my sword, took  _ you _ , and I couldn’t be She-Ra, and that was the reason everything went so badly. It would have been better as She-Ra, maybe you wouldn’t be glitching, and Entrapta would have made it, if I had just been more careful, if I would just stop being so stupid and falling for every distraction Catra throws at me!” She pulled out of Glimmer’s embrace and punched the wall, immediately retracting her hand when the impact with her knuckles sent a shock through her arm.

Glimmer grabbed Adora’s hands to keep her from punching anything else. “We were all stupid at Princess Prom. I got captured because of my own stupid judgment, not because you were tailing Catra. You don’t need to blame yourself for things I did.”

Adora shook her head as a few more tears fell down her cheeks. “None of this would have happened if not for me. It’s dangerous to have me here, I should just -” She pulled her hand out of Glimmer’s and reached for the sword. “I should just leave…”

The sword clattered to the floor before Adora could touch it. She blinked to figure out what happened to throw it off balance and saw Glimmer’s foot in the way. She must have kicked it over to keep it away from Adora.

“Look at me,” Glimmer ordered firmly. Adora glanced back at her. “We want you here. Forget She-Ra for just a minute, and let me tell you how we feel about Adora, okay?” When Adora didn’t reply, Glimmer took that as a go-ahead. “Adora is my friend. She’s dedicated to fighting the Horde, no matter her past with them. Adora is a great strategist, and is trying her best, even though she got thrown into this whole thing without any training. Adora is a fast learner, and is so, so strong. Bow and I - and everyone else - want Adora around, no matter how much she thinks it would be better without her around.” Red energy radiated from her and she yelped, breaking contact to keep from hurting Adora. When it subsided, she smiled. “I would go through this a thousand times for Adora. Not for She-Ra. Adora and I are friends, and we’re going to protect each other until the end.”

Adora sniffled and wiped tears away from her eyes, leaning forward to lay her head on Glimmer’s shoulder.

“Could you stay in here with me tonight?” she whispered.

With a nod, Glimmer replied, “Of course. I’ll stay right here with you.”

They shifted to lay down in Adora’s bed and pull the blanket over them, Adora laying her head on Glimmer’s chest. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Glimmer’s heartbeat: strong, clear, and healthy. A part of her mind remembered times when she would lay like this with Catra after a particularly bad scolding from Shadow Weaver. Adora and Catra would listen to each other’s heartbeats, clinging to the rhythm that assured them that they were both still alive, still breathing, and still there for each other. She wanted to shake it from her mind to stop the nagging guilt that reminded her she  _ wasn’t _ there for Catra anymore. But she had Glimmer, and Bow, and Swift Wind, and Queen Angella, and….

And maybe that was okay.

She might not have Catra to hold and be close to anymore, but she had Glimmer, who was going to hold her and assure her that it was alright. Even if it was just for now. She was alright.

-

" _O_ _nce Queen Angella surrenders in exchange for you, Bright Moon will fall, and so will your rebellion.” Shadow Weaver was holding Glimmer by the throat while she was restrained by the magic of the Black Garnet. She couldn’t scream for help - her windpipe was squeezed shut, and all she could do was try to gasp for air. All she_ wanted _  to do was call for Adora, to shout and struggle and escape. But she was too weak. She could hardly move, let alone escape. _

_ Shadow Weaver released her throat, leaving her limp and lightheaded in the hold of the Black Garnet. When she stepped to the side, she revealed Adora and Catra, standing arm-in-arm, wicked grins on their faces. As soon as she saw the look on Adora’s face, Glimmer began to cry and yell for her friend. _

_ “Aw, look at that, Adora,” Catra nudged Adora. “The princess is crying. I didn’t know princesses had feelings.” _

_ Adora scoffed. “Please, it’s an act. She wants to appeal to our humanity and let her go. But honestly, it just makes me want to make life worse for her.” She reached behind her and threw Bow to the floor, his body bruised and broken. He was unconscious, if alive at all.  _

_ Suddenly materializing on the floor next to him were Entrapta and Micah. Perfuma and Mermista appeared and fell to their knees. Her own mother walked into the room and glared down at her in distaste. _

_ “Mom,” Glimmer cried, her voice barely functioning. “Mom, help them.” _

_ Angella crossed her arms. “You are such a disappointment, Glimmer. How could you let this happen? You don’t deserve freedom.” _

_ Angella, Adora, and Catra all fell into place behind Shadow Weaver, laughing at Glimmer as she cried, screamed, pulled against the magic keeping her there. There was no one left to help her. There was no one left to save her. This was the end of the rebellion, the end of Bright Moon, the end of Princess Glimmer, the end of She-Ra. If she had stayed by Adora’s side, then none of this would have happened. But now it was the end. And it was all her fault. _

Glimmer gasped at sat up, her heart racing as red energy dissipated from her. She was back in Adora’s room, under the thin sheet on the hard mattress. Adora was fast asleep next to her. It was quiet. Almost peaceful. They were back to where they should be. Bad things were happening because of what happened in the Fright Zone, but that didn’t mean all hope was lost. She had allies. She had friends. She had hope.

Slowly laying back down, Glimmer turned toward the window to stare out toward the trees. The Whispering Woods were dark and frosted over, branches swaying in the wind. It was only a matter of time before the Horde attacked. And without her powers, without the alliance… Glimmer wasn’t sure if they could truly stand against them. They might have She-Ra. But time would tell if that even mattered.


End file.
